


The Labyrinth of the Faun

by decco6226



Category: Mother 1 | EarthBound Zero | EarthBound Beginnings, Mother 2: Gyiyg no Gyakushuu | EarthBound
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-31
Updated: 2018-01-30
Packaged: 2019-03-11 17:32:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13529172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/decco6226/pseuds/decco6226
Summary: In 2015 Eagleland, young Ninten and his ailing mother arrive at the post of his mother's new husband, a sadistic army officer who is trying to quell a guerrilla uprising. While exploring an ancient maze, Ninten encounters a faun, who tells him that he is a legendarily lost prince and must complete three dangerous tasks in order to claim immortality.





	1. Chapter 1

Darkness.

 

A female voice hums a sweet lullaby.

 

**Eagleland, 2015**

 

**THE CIVIL WAR IS OVER.**

 

**HIDDEN IN THE MOUNTAINS, ARMED MEN STILL FIGHT THE NEW FASCIST REGIME. MILITARY POSTS ARE ESTABLISHED TO EXTERMINATE THE RESISTANCE.**

 

_The raw, raspy sound of an older male child struggling to breathe._

 

_Drops of blood drip up the cliff wall, shown sideways. Ninten, thirteen years old is lying on the ground, clearly in agony. A thick ribbon of blood is flowing backwards into his nostrils, and the view goes skywards. As it does, his dilated pupils shrink. The small stream of blood from his mouth drips backwards into his lips, as well as the single tear that disappears into his eye._

 

_**A long long time ago, in the underground realm, where there are no lies or pain, there lived a Prince who dreamed of the human world. He dreamed of blue skies, the soft breeze, and sunshine. One day, eluding his keepers, the Prince escaped. Once outside, the brightness blinded him and erased every trace of the past from his memory. He forgot who He was and where He came from. His body suffered cold, sickness, and pain. Eventually, he died. However, his father, the King, always knew that the Prince's soul would return, perhaps in another body, in another place, at another time. And he would wait for him, until he drew his last breath, until the world stopped turning...** _

 

.

.

.

~oO0Oo~

.

.

.

 

Two cars and a large truck containing luggage drive through the forest.

 

Seated up in the back seat of the front car is Ninten. He's rather thin and doesn't have a strong build for a boy of thirteen, but he can make up for it with enthusiasm and his sometimes clever remarks.

 

He's dressed in his favourite shirt – a red, blue, and white striped one, and has a red and blue baseball cap that he never takes off his pile of straight, charcoal hair. He also has a simple, red bandana tied around his neck, which he also never unties.

 

The boy flips through a book of fairy tales which is seated on his lap. Although he does like doing things which is normal for every boy – for instance, baseball – he also has a fascination with old fairy tales. He reads the last sentence of one page and flips to the next. At his side is a small pile of more fairy tales, tied together with a leather belt. He may get teased occasionally for such interests, but he doesn't care about those few people.

 

The car rocks back and forth.

 

"I don't understand why you had to bring so many books, Ninten."

 

Ninten turns to the direction of his thirty-year-old mother, Carol, studying him, her enormous stomach evidence of advanced pregnancy. She too has black hair.

 

"We're going to the country, the outdoors."

 

She takes the book away from Ninten and looks at it. Half of that look shows signs of nostalgia from her past of reading such books. The other half of the look is told with a simple,

 

"Fairy tales..." She cradles her son's chin in her hand. "You're a bit too old to be filling your head with such nonsense."

 

She pauses, feeling nausea coming her way. She presses her blue handkerchief to her mouth, and gasps out, "Ask him to stop the car, please."

 

Ninten wastes no time and knocks quickly on the partition window of the sedan.

 

The caravan of cars comes to a screeching halt in the forest. It's color a mixture of greens, and gold from the sunlight above reflecting on its nature.

 

Carol exits immediately, one hand on her mouth, the other clutching her pregnant stomach. She leans against the automobile. Gasping for air, she battles nausea. While doing so, she looks up to see Ninten has exited the car as well, timidly approaching her.

 

"Ninten, wait. Your brother is acting up."

 

Ninten nods very quickly and takes that opportunity to explore a little bit of the forest. Not too far...

 

One of the military men, dressed in blue and wearing black, high leather boots around his feet walks up to the boy's mother. As Ninten moves casually on the road, he can hear the distant conversation among the crows' caws.

 

"Madam, are you alright?"

 

"Water – just a bit of water..."

 

"Water!" The man yells. "Water for the captain's wife."

 

_Clink!_

 

Ninten looks down at his shoe and bends down, picking up the small stone he's just stumbled upon. It's about the size of his fist, and carved into the rock is the outline of a human eye.

 

His eyes gleam, fascinated.

 

Deciding to keep the stone with him, he walks a little further, looking among the shrubs. A small, stone pillar sticks up amongst the grass and bushes. Deciding to investigate, Ninten walks over to its direction. His find makes him jump back a bit.

 

It's a statue of a satyr, it's mouth wide open and etchings of Celtic letterings carved in its body everywhere. A piece of its brutish face is missing – an eye. Ninten holds up his eye-etched rock.

 

_It looks like it would fit... Do I really wanna?_

 

Without thinking, he finds himself placing the stone in its rightful place – a perfect fit.

 

A strange gurgling and clicking noise emerges from the mouth – seeming to be from within its core. Ninten prepares himself for defence. The wind picks up, and before the boy can even react, a large stick insect has jumped from its stone home.

 

Ninten jumps, clearly startled, but then calms down and stares, intrigued by the insect as it crawls around the statue's face.

 

_Ninten?_

 

He smiles, and the insect jumps up and flies. He watches it zoom away.

 

"Ninten?"

 

He turns around to see his mother with a soldier aside her. She has summoned him.

 

"Come here." She motions the direction toward her with her hand. He runs to his mother's side, enthusiastically saying, "I saw a fairy-"

 

"Just look at your shoes!" She exclaims. He looks down to see his blue shoes covered in mud.

 

She puts an arm around him and leads him back to the car.

 

"Let's go. When we get to the mill, come out to greet the Captain. I want you to call him Father."

 

Ninten's head fills with panic. _Why the hell should I?_

 

It seems as though – like most – his mother had heard his thoughts.

 

"You have no idea how good he's been to us. It's just a word, Ninten... Just a word..."

 

They both climb back into their seats in the car, and the vehicles zoom off as they did before, leaving Ninten watching outside as the stick insect flies around.

 

.

.

.

~oO0Oo~

.

.

.

 

Giygas looks at his silver pocket watch in his black gloved hand. Its glass is cracked, and it ticks repeatedly.

 

The sound of a car horn flows through the atmosphere.

 

"Captain, here they come!" A soldier yells in his direction.

 

"Fifteen minutes late..." He mutters to himself.

 

The three vehicles move into the mill compound. The site consists of a pair of dark stone buildings with corrugated roofs, connected to the mill by a small stone bridge. A large water wheel hangs over the dry riverbed. The wooden beams and columns bear sculpted Celtic motifs and here and there, small, odd, carved creatures. The walls have been reinforced with hundreds of sandbags and wooden pontoons as if preparing for an attack.

 

Captain Giygas and a small group of servants and soldiers wait patiently outside. When the cars get closer and stop, they move towards them. As some start to bring out luggage, the front car's door opens and Carol and Giygas stare at each other.

 

"Carol." He greets pleasantly with a smile as she steps out. He touches her pregnancy with his palm and holds hers in the other.

 

"Welcome."

 

He moves aside, revealing a metal, manual wheelchair. Carol already knows where this is going.

 

"That's not necessary. I can walk perfectly well."

 

"Our doctor, Jeff, prefers that you don't exert yourself." The doctor, Jeff, stands behind the wheelchair. A thinner man of nineteen, with blonde hair and glasses, but he gets the job done well - the best on their team!

 

"No." She says sternly.

 

"Come on..." He says. He leans in next to her ear. "Do it for me." He whispers ever so softly.

 

She obeys, and falls into the seat of the wheelchair, quietly thanking Jeff.

 

Carol then looks back into the car.

 

"Ninten, come out. Say hello to the Captain."

 

Ninten clutches his books close to his chest and slowly moves out of the car. When he steps out onto the grass, Giygas says "Ninten." His smile is fake – like the boy's a waste of space. His voice shallow and deep, no interest in the thirteen-year-old. The boy looks so small and is pretty scared as he looks at the towering man.

 

_I guess I should start... huh?_

 

He raises his hand slowly, offering a handshake, the other clutching his books. The Captain looks at it offended. It is his left hand. Before the boy can correct the mistake, the man grabs his hand by the tops of his fingers, and squeezes, hurting the poor boy. He winces in pain.

 

"It's the other hand, Ninten."

 

Cold.

 

And his mother says nothing.

 

Giygas throws the boy's hand away like it's garbage, and turns.

 

"Paula!"

 

The fifteen-year-old blonde in charge of all these servants – strangely – turns around.

 

"Bring their luggage."

 

"Yes, sir!" She replies. Her eyes seem infinitely sad, and tired.

 

And then the boy is left alone, as his mother is taken into the mill. He clutches the books to his chest and tries to hold back the tears. He feels lower than the depths of Hell...

 

But then he looks up... And Paula watches him. He's staring at that stick insect, sitting atop a pile of old sandbags.

 

_Had it followed him?_

 

He doesn't waste a second. He walks quickly towards it, dropping his books carelessly to the grass. His pace quickens and he dashes to it and grabs for it. It zooms from his fist.

 

It rushes away to the right of the mill, to the edge of a small rise. The boy goes after it, so quickly his hat flies off his head, but he doesn't notice.

 

He keeps running.

 

But his pace slows, as the stick insect has gone into something too amazing for the boy to take in all at once. Among the trees is the ruin of an old stone labyrinth. It's circular, it's paths overgrown and partially blocked. Some roots and vines growing against its rock.

 

_Should I? No... But I will eventually... It's too awesome._

 

Ninten slowly makes his way down the first corridor and looks beyond what's in store for him.

 

"It's a labyrinth." He hears.

 

He whips around to the young, female voice, to find Paula standing at the entrance. She's dressed in a pink pinafore. He walks towards her, smiling sheepishly. She has his books in her arms.

 

"Just a pile of old rocks that have always been here. Even before the mill. Better not go in there – you might get lost."

 

She hands him his dropped items, which he thankfully takes.

 

"Thank you!"

 

"Have you read them all?" She asks.

 

"Paula!" A male voice calls.

 

Paula turns around and Ninten looks beyond her shoulder. One of Giygas' solders.

 

"The Captain is calling."

 

She nods and turns.

 

"Your father needs me." She heads for the mill, Ninten running after her, desperately trying to get someone to listen to what he wants to say. To think about _his_ feelings.

 

"He's not my father."

 

Paula turns her head, still walking. Ninten speeds up and catches up with her side.

 

"The Captain is not my father! My father was a tailor. He died in the war. The Captain is _not_ my father."

 

"Well, you've made that clear enough. Shall we go?"

 

The two walk away together.

 

"Have you seen my mother?"

 

"Yes."

 

"Isn't she beautiful?"

 

"Yes."

 

"She's sick with baby. Did you notice?"

 

As the two walk towards the mill, the stick insect perches itself on the top of the maze's entrance, watching the two children get smaller and eventually disappear into the mill.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

"The guerrillas are sticking to the woods because it's hard to track them up there," Giygas says, studying a map with a magnifying glass. The night sky blazes in the contrast with the crackling fire in the corner.

 

He stands up and speaks to his right-hand man, Everdred, and other men. "Those bastards know the terrain better than any of us. We'll block all access to the woods. Food, medicine – we'll store it all. Right here."

 

Paula steps in the room and brings a tray of food in. She places the plates of bread, olives, cold cuts, and a bottle of liquor on the table they're at. "We'll force them down, make them come to us. We'll set up three new command posts."

 

Giygas places three markers on the map. "Here, here, and here."

 

Paula glances at the map, concealing avid interest.

 

"Paula," Giygas says, suddenly placing an arm on her shoulder. She stares at him. "Ask Jeff to come down."

 

"Yes, sir."

 

She walks out.

 

.

.

.

~oO0Oo~

.

.

.

 

Jeff takes out a thin, tall bottle with a pasteur pipette in it. Carol lies in bed sleepily while Ninten stands, watching the young doctor's actions with interest.

 

"This will help you sleep through the night," Jeff explains. "Just two drops before bed." He uses the dropper and dumps two drops of the liquid into a glass of water. As he places the dropper down and hands the glass of water to Carol, Ninten places the dropper back in it's place, and picks of the bottle, staring at it.

 

"Very good," Jeff says, watching Ninten's mother drinking the liquid weakly. "All of it. Good."

 

Carol groans after she finishes the water.

 

Jeff goes back to his doctor's kit, closes it up, and finishes, saying "Don't hesitate to call me if you need anything. Day or night."

 

He stops and looks at Ninten, who is smiling, standing beside his mother's bed.

 

"You or your little doctor." He concludes.

 

Ninten smiles, and Jeff leaves. "Goodnight."

 

"Close the door, and turn off the lights, sweetie," Carol says, yawning, and passing the medicine vial to her son.

 

Ninten places the vial on the bedside table.

 

Outside the closed door, Paula and Jeff talk quietly amongst themselves after they check to make sure the foyer is empty.

 

"You have to help us. Come up and see him. The wound is getting worse. His leg isn't getting any better." Paula whispers quickly.

 

Jeff hands her a small package wrapped in dark paper and neatly tied with string. "This is all I could get. I'm sorry."

 

Paula sighs, disappointed.

 

"Captain Giygas is waiting for you in his office." She says.

 

The doctor moves downstairs, and Paula glances back to the upper bedroom. Ninten has been peeking out from the partially open door, listening attentively.

 

_How long has he been there?!_

 

The boy closes the door quietly.

 

In the dark room lit only by a fireplace, the voice of his mother calls out.

 

"Come here, Ninten."

 

He obeys and walks over to the bed. He takes off his hat and shoes and places them on the floor. Never to take off the bandana around his neck, though. That was a forbidden act to him. He climbs into his mother's bed and snuggles close.

 

Although sometimes he felt that he might be immature for his thirteen-year-old age, he felt no remorse being babied by his mother and felt no shame cuddling close for a sleep. He tries to avoid it when others are around, though, to avoid the ridicule. Plus he had to tonight anyways, – his room wouldn't be ready for a while.

 

"Jesus, your feet. They're frozen!" His mother gasps.

 

They lie there for a second before his mother breaks the silence. "Are you afraid?"

 

"A little." He answers truthfully as Carol caresses his hair. The wind picks up every now and then and the house timbers moan and creak.

 

"What's that noise?" He asks, a mixture of confusion and fear in his voice.

 

"Nothing – just the wind." His mother laughs quietly, holding him closer. "Nights here are different from city nights." She explains. "There you hear cars – the tramway. Here the houses are old. They creak."

 

The house ironically utters a series of rumbling noises, almost as a demonstration.

 

"As if they're speaking..."

 

There was a break in the conversation. His mother pulls her son close again, saying, "Tomorrow I'm going to give you a surprise."

 

"A surprise?"

 

"Yes."

 

"A book?" Ninten asks eagerly. His mother laughs at the obvious guess of the surprise, and says "No, something much better."

 

Then things took a serious turn when one question escapes Ninten's lips: "Why did you have to get married?"

 

His mother had to think of a way quickly to explain.

 

"I was alone too long."

 

_I don't buy that mom..._

 

"I'm with you. You weren't alone. You were never alone."

 

"When you're older, you'll understand." His mother replies weakly.

 

_Oh, not THAT excuse again._

 

"It hasn't been easy for me either," Carol says before wincing in pain.

 

"Your brother's at it again – tell him one of your stories. I'm sure he'll calm down."

 

Ninten eagerly rests his hand on his mother's stomach, excited to share one of his most favorite passions with his younger sibling. He moves closer to Carol's stomach.

 

He taps on her abdomen twice.

 

"My brother..." He taps. "My brother..."

 

He rests his head on his mom's belly, while the unborn child opens it's eyes in the amniotic fluid, and both mother and unborn listen.

 

_**Many, many years ago in a sad, faraway land, there was an enormous mountain made of rough, black stone. At sunset, on top of that mountain, a magic rose blossomed every night that made whoever plucked it immortal. But no one dared go near it because its thorns were full of poison. Men talked amongst themselves about their fear of death, and pain, but never about the promise of eternal life. And every day, the rose wilted, unable to bequeath its gift to anyone... forgotten and lost at the top of that cold, dark mountain, forever alone, until the end of time.** _

 

It was nice the way the stick insect was observing the two.

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

.

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~oO0Oo~

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.

.

 

 

The improvised office is in one of the lower rooms, where the gigantic mill wheel and the wooden gears lie. Steel gears shine like metallic stars on a small swatch of black velvet. Tweezers pick them up and put them into place within the workings of a watch. Using a jeweler's magnifying glass, Giygas oils and closes up his pocket watch while he listens to cuplé on a phonograph.

 

The doctor comes to the door and knocks. Giygas motions for him to enter, which he does.

 

"How is she?" He asks.

 

"Very weak," Jeff replies.

 

Giygas closes the watch and removes the magnifying glass.

 

"She'll have as much rest as she needs. I'll sleep down here." Jeff continues

 

"And my son?"

 

"Your-?"

 

They are interrupted by Everdred and another soldier coming into the room. "Excuse us, Captain."

 

Giygas raises a hand, silencing them. He repeats. "My son. How is he?"

 

"For the moment, there's no reason to be alarmed," Jeff concludes.

 

"Very good," Giygas says, getting up and picks up a cigarette. But Jeff wasn't finished. "Captain, your wife shouldn't have traveled at such a late stage of pregnancy.”

 

Giygas replies with a mouthful of smoke, followed by, "Is that your opinion?"

 

"My professional opinion, yes, sir."

 

The Captain walks up to the young doctor, so they are eye to eye. "A son should be born wherever his father is. That's all." He takes another puff of the cigarette and continues walking towards his men.

 

"One more thing, Captain." Giygas stops, annoyed. "What makes you so sure the baby is a male?"

 

Giygas turns around, and laughs. "Don't fuck with me." With that, Giygas follows his men outside.

 

"At eight o'clock, we detected movement in the northwestern sector. Gunfire." They walk over to the left side of the mill. "Sergeant Beyona searched the area and captured a suspect. The other one's his son, here from the town."

 

The men approach the suspects, who are being held tightly by a soldier each.

 

"Captain, my father is an honest man-"

 

"I'll decide that." Giygas interrupts the son, roughly nineteen years of age. "Take your hat off when you talk to me!"

 

The boy quietly obeys while the sergeant named Beyona hands the Captain a small gauge rifle and a small leather pouch.

 

"We found this weapon – it's been fired."

 

"My father was hunting rabbits, Captain." The son says.

 

"Again – keep quiet." Giygas then proceeds to go through the man's bag. He takes out a piece of paper and reads aloud. "' _No God, nor government, nor master?_ ' Just like that – how do you like that?" He shows Everdred, who says, "Red propaganda, sir."

 

The young man sweats, shakes, holding his hands together tightly, showing obvious signs of anxiety. "It's not propaganda, sir."

 

"Shh..."

 

"It's an old almanac, Captain." The father says. "We're just farmers."

 

Giygas continues to go through the bag, throwing to the ground each and every paper he can see. "Go on." He says.

 

"I went up into the woods, Captain, to hunt for rabbits. For my daughters. They're sick."

 

Giygas then proceeds to pull out a half empty bottle of wine from the bag. He uncorks it and takes a whiff. "Rabbits, uh?"

 

"Captain, if my father says so, he was hunting rabbits." The boy interrupts again. Giygas shoots him a look that would strike him dead where he stood if looks could murder. He corks back the wine and walks over to the boy, bottle in hand.

 

Then he swings.

 

Without warning, he flattens the boy's nose with the bottle's bottom. The father screams horrified, but without the guts to intervene.

 

Giygas lifts the son up, bashing his nose, again and again, leveling bone and cartilage, blood flooding from the wound.

 

"Leave him alone!" The father yells.

 

Giygas drops the boy, who falls to the ground spitting blood.

 

"You killed him, you killed him! Murderer! Son of a bitch!"

 

He turns to the father and shoots him twice in cold blood, then turns to the son and shoots him once, in the head. Then all is silence. The distant whistle of a train can be heard. Giygas heads back towards Everdred and calmly searches the pouch. He throws out the rest of the remaining papers and then pulls out two dead rabbits by their long ears. He stares coldly at Everdred.

 

"Maybe you'll learn to search these assholes properly before you come bothering me." He blames.

 

"Yes, Captain."

 

 

 

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.

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~oO0Oo~

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.

.

 

Young Ninten awakes from his sleep, wide-eyed. The contrast between silence and the dry rattling moving throughout the room is too much. A soft ululation at the window, which is half open, and the curtains billow. The mill groans, and Ninten is now restless and scared.

 

Another dry clicking noise.

 

"Mother. Mother, wake up!" He whispers.

 

No response. His mother doesn't move.

 

"Mother, there's something in the room."

 

Something shifts in the ceiling beams. Ninten looks up, searching. It startles the boy enough to leap out of bed.

 

_Screw this, I'm out of here!_

 

He moves to the edge of the bed, and slowly and carefully places one – just one – of his bare feet on the carpet. It's soft against his flesh, and his muscles relax. Suddenly something the size of a human hand scurries past his feet and hides under the bed.

 

He quickly gasps in fear and pulls his feet back under the covers for protection.

 

Then, pulling at the goose down comforter, the stick insect climbs up into the bed. Ninten looks from the opposite side of the bed, clutching a bundle of blankets to his chest. He cocks his head, then, when they both realize they've seen one another, they both relax, and the insect slowly approaches the boy. When Ninten sees the insect has no scary intentions, he smiles.

 

"Hello. Did you follow me here?"

 

The stick insect clicks in mandibles.

 

"Are you a fairy?"

 

The stick insect regards him with curiosity.

 

"Look!" He says, excitedly. He reaches to the bedside table, picks up a book, flips through it, and shows the stick insect the illustration. A simple sketch of a fairy.

 

"This is a fairy." He says, tapping the picture.

 

The stick insect mimics the fairy drawn in the book. It flaps its wings, turns around, and withing five seconds, it turns into that exact humanoid fairy in real life.

 

Ninten is clearly shocked, not believing this is real, or happening. The fairy is green, with four wings that have a view similar to leaves. It has a human-ish anatomy complete with fingers, toes, two eyes, and pointy ears.

Suddenly, in flies upwards, it's wings fluttering quickly. It places itself in front of Ninten's face and swings its arms to its chest, motioning for the boy to come.

 

The boy smiles. "You want me to go with you?"

 

The fairy nods, and points towards the window.

 

His smile stays, showing interest. "Outside? Where?"

 


	3. Chapter 3

The green fairy flies outside swiftly, but Ninten is able to follow behind quite quickly. Too excited to waste any time, he only slips on a jacket, hat, and his shoes – and _runs_ outside. This is a _real fairy!_

 

Ninten stops. The creature has led him to the labyrinth, which is in a bath of moonlight. Good thing, cause he didn't bring a flashlight. But the moonlight provided much light, that he can see clearly.

 

The fairy chirps, and flies into the first passage of the labyrinth. Ninten cautiously enters. Trees and roots crowd the broken niches as if fused with the stone. Some of the pathways are blocked by gnarled trees that have grown through the rock.

 

Ninten pulls his jacket closer around his body, wandering through the narrow, spooky pathways. The fairy guides him and stays close so he doesn't lose his way, motioning with its arm every once in a while to keep up.

 

The thirteen-year-old rounds a wall. He's at the rotunda at the centre of the labyrinth. There's nothing there, except for a giant hole in the middle of the ground. Around the edge of the hold, connected to the ground is a stone ground – almost like a well.

 

Ninten draws closer, to see that it's actually a stone staircase, drawing down into the dark, unknown soil.

 

The fairy flies down quickly at break-neck speed.

 

_I guess I'm supposed to follow down..._

 

He looks down into the depths and cautiously makes his way down the stairs. Once down, he looks around the dark room. The floor has the outline of the circular maze etched into its stone. In the centre of the maze – directly where he is at the moment on its map – has a tall, stone statue built. The entire room including the walls and floor are covered with moss, dirt, vines, and what looks like a tree in the corner.

 

"Hello?" He yells. "Hello?"

 

The room returns his cry again and again.

 

The fairy flies to the statue, and the boy follows.

 

It's actually a large, stone slab, and carved into it is the picture of a boy, a baby, and what looks like a goat – or what Ninten guessed from all his fairy tale knowledge, a faun...?

 

The curious boy looks around again and wanders around the room.

 

"Echo? Echo. Hello?" The words bounce around the room, echoing throughout the stone.

 

The fairy zooms around and lands on the branch of the mossy tree.

 

The tree moves around, revealing a face, and makes the sound of what sounds like a snore. The fairy jumps off. The face opens its eyes.

 

"It's you." It says, a hint of excitement in its voice.

 

Ninten turns around quickly, startled. The tree was actually – as he guessed – a faun. His face is somewhat a mixture of a goat and a human, with some indents in his skin above his eyes that look like a small, circular maze. His hair is long and matches his longish mane. His arms and legs look like tree trunks, and what Ninten finds most interesting about that, is that his legs didn't look like any form of legs he's ever seen. They look more like half of a bottom leg, then another leg growing out of the front where the knee was – almost like a tree branch.

 

The faun gasps. "It's you. You've returned." The faun is clearly excited while Ninten is clearly the opposite. He steps back a step. The faun realizes the situation, and the fear in Ninten's eyes, and shakes his hands in front of his face. "Don't be frightened, I beg you."

 

He reaches to his side and opens up a small wicker basket. Two things fly out, one red, one blue. They're fairies! They look exactly like the green one does. They fly around the room. "Look – look!" The faun says, followed by a very old sounding slow laugh. His ears twitch, and he produces a smile, with kind eyes.

 

The voice sounds painful.

 

The boy looks at the fairies, grabs his red bandana awkwardly, and returns the smile.

 

"My name is Ninten. Who are you?"

 

"Me?" The faun questions, pointing to himself. He then waves away the question with his hand and begins wandering around the room while talking. "I've had so many names... Old names that only the wind and the trees can pronounce. I am the mountain, the woods, and the earth. I am..." He tries to pronounce his name, but the sound that Ninten hears sounds more like a painful grunt and gasp. He turns to Ninten. "I am... a faun. Your most humble servant, Your Highness..." He says, bowing politely. As he bows to him, moonlight dapples his body. His coarse hooves and the strange angle of his legs make his courtly manner clumsy yet oddly gracious.

 

Ninten shakes his head. "No, I'm-"

 

"You are Prince Monery, son of the king of the underworld."

 

Ninten continues to shake his head. "My father was a tailor."

 

"You are not born of man." The faun disagrees, shakes his finger, then waving off Ninten's sentence. "It was the moon that bore you. Look on your left shoulder, and you'll find a mark that proves it."

 

Ninten instinctively touches his left shoulder, with a strange expression on his face.

 

_How does he know about that birthmark?_

 

"Your real father had us open up portals all over the world to allow your return." He continues.

 

Ninten still keeps his grip on the handkerchief around his neck and starts playing with one of the loose threads.

 

"This... is the last of them." The faun says, extending his hands outward like a 'Y', gesturing about the well around them. "But we have to make sure that your essence is intact, that you have not become a mortal." He explains, pointing his long, wooden branch of a finger multiple times at the confused boy.

 

The faun suddenly gasps like he's remembered something, and reaches for his messenger bag hanging at his side. "You must complete three tasks before the moon is full." He produces a large, leather-bound book, as well as a small leather bag, and Ninten looks on, face full of interest and wonder. "This is the Book of Crossroads. Open it when you are alone-"

 

The faun gives the boy the items, Ninten shakes the bag close to his ear. It sounds like there are stones in there, but he's not sure.

 

"-and it will show you your future, show you what must be done." He and the fairies step back into the shadows and disappear.

 

Ninten opens the book but finds it blank. No matter how many pages he turns, they're all blank. It looks more like a sketchbook.

 

"But there's nothing in here." He states.

 

No response.

 

He's alone.

 

He closes the book and hugs it to his chest.

 

.

.

.

~oO0Oo~

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.

.

 

The next morning, a shirtless Giygas shaves with a switchblade while listening to music on a phonograph. He then sits at a wooden table, cigarette in mouth, arm up one of his leather boots – shining them methodically. This is obviously a daily ritual for him. By his side are the two scrawny rabbits he impounded the night before.

 

Paula brings in a breakfast tray and starts to unload it.

 

"Paula. Prepare these rabbits for dinner tonight." He commands.

 

Paula stops and picks up the two rabbits by the ears, inspecting them closely.

 

"They are too young." She explains.

 

"Well, maybe they'll do for a stew."

 

"Yes, sir."

 

She turns to leave, rabbits in hand, when he stops her.

 

"This coffee was burnt. Taste it yourself."

 

He hands her the tin cup of brown liquid. She grabs it, and takes a quick sip, and swallows. She hands it back, and he places a hand on her shoulder. There is something unpleasant about this sudden contact. Something too familiar, but she bears it in silence.

 

"You should keep an eye on it." He says. His hand slides off her shoulder, down her arm.

 

_Awkward..._

 

"As you wish, sir."

 

She walks out, towards the kitchen in the next room. She walks down the four wooden stairs and hands the rabbits to a cook. "Cook these."

 

The kitchen is enormous. The open charcoal cookstove is two meters high by five meters wide. Two old, stout cooks wash the gigantic wooden work table with boiling water.

 

"He didn't like the coffee..." Paula explains.

 

"He's nothing but a fussy dandy. A fussy dandy." One cook says.

 

"We're going to need some beef and one more chicken," Paula says out loud, picking up two buckets of hot water.

 

"Where are we supposed to find that?"

 

"The doctor's wife, the mayor's too."

 

Paula walks out.

 

"Well, they eat more than a couple of pigs." The cooks talk amongst themselves.

 

"And they won't shut up."

 

"Not even underwater."

 

Upstairs, Paula and another servant empty wooden buckets of water into a porcelain bathtub. Steam dances around the room and the single, circular window above the tub lights the room easily.

 

"I'll be back in a moment, Paula." The servant says, which Paula nods, holding a hand to her hot head.

 

Outside the bathroom, in the bedroom, Carol opens up one of her trunks. Ninten is as well, a red and black checkered bathrobe wrapped around his body, yet he still had his shirt and bandana on from last night.

 

"Ninten." His mother says excitedly, placing something on her lap, then turns around in her wheelchair. "Your father is giving a dinner party tonight. Look what I made for you."

 

She lifts up a fine, handsome green dress shirt, black suit, and a dark green tie. The tuxedo is very nice.

 

"Do you like it?"

 

Ninten says nothing. Dress shirts were never really his thing. He'd rather just wear his favourite t-shirt and his bandana – even if it was a green silk one, he'd make an effort to like it. He looks at the clothing like the suit was more of a strange artifact than something he'd _ever_ wear.

 

"What your father wouldn't have given to have a tuxedo as fine as this when he was your age. And look at these shoes!"

 

She holds up a pair of expensive leather dress shoes. "Do you like them?"

 

Ninten makes an effort and smiles a weak smile, not wanting to make his mother sad after a suit she worked so hard to make for him.

 

"Yes - they're very cool."

 

But Carol is not fooled. She still smiles but you can tell in her face that she knows her son. "Go on now, take your bath."

 

He obeys, and walks into the bathroom, while Carol starts fumbling with the buttons on his dress shirt.

 

Ninten closes the two wooden doors and locks them. He then walks to the nearby air pipes, and squats beside them, and shoves his arm behind them. He struggles for a couple seconds, but eventually pulls out that leather-bound book from the night before. He looks back to make sure his mother is not watching. He makes his way to the tub, sits on the edge, and opens the blank book. He turns a page, then he sees ink forming on the page.

 

_Am I seeing things?_

 

The ink spreads across the page, drawing pictures, and writing words of a story. He places his hand on the paper and runs it along its surface. It starts with the blacks, then the browns, then the greens. In a fairy tale themed picture, the image shows a boy – Ninten guessing it was him – squatting inside a rather large hole in a rather large tree.

 

It's branches twist into circles, and it's root spiral across the page. The letters start to take form. _**Once upo**_ -

 

_BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!_

 

"Ninten?" His mother.

 

He slams the book shut.

 

_BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!_

 

"Ninten?"

 

He still doesn't answer.

 

"Ninten? Hurry up. I want to see the suit on you." His mother calls excitedly.

 

The boy walks towards the nearby mirror to his left.

 

"I want you to be handsome for the Captain." She says.

 

The boy removes his bathrobe from one shoulder – his left. He examines the birthmark on his bicep. It looks exactly like a crescent moon, and three dots beside it, reminding him of stars.

 

"You'll look like a prince." His mother states at the door, smiling.

 

Ninten places his hand beside the moon on his shoulder.

 

He then talks to himself.

 

And smiles.

 

"A prince?"

 


	4. Chapter 4

In the kitchen, Paula skillfully chops a potato, then drops it and cleans the small knife in her apron. As doing so, she looks up at the other cooks. "Make sure those chickens are cleaned properly. And don't forget the beans."

 

The three cooks she's talking to all stop what they're doing suddenly, and all look into the same direction. All is silent. Paula turns around, and they all observe Ninten walking down the stairs. He's dressed in the tuxedo, tie around his neck instead of the bandana they are so used to seeing him in.

 

"You look marvelous, my boy, just handsome!" One of the cooks says.

 

"What a gorgeous suit!" The others say.

 

Paula stares at her awkward friend with a smile, then looks back to the cooks. "Get back to work, stop wasting time."

 

She then turns back to Ninten.

 

"Do you want some milk with honey?" She asks her friend.

 

_Sure, why not? I am thirsty..._

 

He nods.

 

Outside, Paula squeezes the utters of a cow, milk squirting out into a wooden bowl.

 

"Move back. We can't have you getting milk on your suit, with you looking so handsome."

 

Ninten blushes and continues petting the cow.

 

"Paula..." He begins.

 

_How do I tell her I saw a fairy last night? She's gonna think I'm a baby..._

 

_Just go for it. Say it!_

 

He looks at his friend. "Do you believe in fairies?"

 

Paula looks at the boy and stops for a second.

 

Ninten sweats a bit and has a sheepish look on his face.

 

"No." She says simply. "But when I was a little girl, I did." She continues to milk the cow. "I believed in a lot of things I don't believe in anymore."

 

The cow lets out a "moo" and the girl shushes it, giving it a pat on its side. Ninten leans in. "Last night, a fairy visited me." He says, honestly.

 

The girl looks up. She sees the seriousness in his eyes, but judging by the amount of fairy tales he carried in his arms the day before, she isn't so sure. "Really?" Paula scoops some milk into a small bowl and wipes off the milk leaking off the sides.

 

"And it wasn't alone," He continues. "There were lots of them, and a faun, too."

 

"A faun?"

 

"He was very old, very tall and smelled like earth."

 

Giygas and Everdred approach the two teens.

 

"My mother warned me to be wary of fauns."

 

"Paula!" Giygas calls. The two look at the army men. "Come with me."

 

The two men and Paula walk towards the storage building connected to the mill. Guards unload giant stacks of provisions from trucks. A Civil Guard captain supervises the operation and greets Giygas.

 

"Captain," He says. "Everything is here."

 

The men walk into the bodega filled with grain, bottles of wine, barrels of oil, salt and sugar, and other things.

 

"Flour, salt, oil, medicine, olives, bacon..."

 

Giygas grabs a small, paper packaged box from a pile and sniffs. "This – this is real tobacco."

 

"And the ration cards." The captain says, handing over some paper cards.

 

Paula stands beside a pile of boxes, all marked with a first-aid symbol. Her eyes widen, stunned by all of the supplies. These supplies are way more than enough for all the people at the mill. They really _are_ luring the rebels here...

 

"Paula." He says. She turns around. "The key."

 

"Yes, sir." She hands him the key. He takes it in his gloved hand and places it in the large, iron padlock.

 

"Is this the only copy?" He asks.

 

"The only one."

 

"From now on, I'll carry it." He says.

 

_Dammit._

 

"Captain!" A soldier calls. Giygas walks over, who is handed a pair of binoculars. "Captain, perhaps it's nothing."

 

He peers into the tool and gazes into the terrain filled with trees. Smoke plumes out through the tall greens in a thin line over the horizon. Giygas removes the binoculars.

 

"It's them."

 

 

 

.

.

.

~oO0Oo~

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.

.

 

A young boy in a tuxedo named Ninten walks through the forest and opens the Book of Crossroads. He quickly glances back to see his "father" and some of his men racing up the mountain on horseback. He looks back down to the book and reads out loud to himself.

 

_**Once upon a time, when the woods were young, they were home to creatures who were full of magic and wonder. They protected one another and slept in the shade of a colossal fig tree that grew on a hill near the mill. But now, the tree is dying. Its branches are dry, it's trunk old and twisted. A monstrous toad has settled in its roots, and won't let the tree thrive. You must put the three magic stones in the toad's mouth and retrieve the golden key from inside the toad's belly. Only then will the fig tree flourish again.** _

 

When the boy stops reading and wandering, he finds himself looking up at the same tree described in the book, picture and all. The colossal fig tree _is o_ ld and twisted. It's branches _are_ dry. He walks up to the tree, which has a large hole in its trunk, and you can go under it, into its roots. The boy opens up the small, leather, drawstring bag the faun gave him and rolls out the three magic stones. They are reddish gold, but not perfectly round. About the size of golf balls, they clatter in his fleshy palm. He then looks down at his black dress shoes and sees wet, sloppy mud dripping off the bottom. There is a huge mud puddle around the tree he didn't see.

 

_Shit. Mom's gonna murder me._

 

Deciding not to dirty up the suit, he slips everything off except for his boxers and shoes, and hangs it on a nearby branch. He then turns to the wood and steps into the shade of the colossal fig tree.

 

As he gets on his hands and knees and crawls down into its muddy roots, a gust of wind sends his green tie flying.

 

Ninten crawls amongst the muddy ground. The tree's passageways between the roots are narrow and claustrophobic. The air is hot, making the boy sweat buckets, yet he still crawls slowly. He stops and looks at the passageway ahead. Large pillbugs roughly the size of 'D' batteries crawl wildly amongst the brown, muddy ground. One crawls up his right forearm, and when he notices it, he gasps, and wipes it off his flesh, leaving a long, thick streak of mud down his arm from his muddy hand.

 

He continues.

 

.

.

.

~oO0Oo~

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.

.

 

The men ride through the forest, trying to get to that smoke quickly. They stop at the source and dismount. Giygas removes his glove when he finds the remains of a campfire. He bends down and places his bare hand above the smoke that's left.

 

"They were here less than twenty minutes ago. They left in a hurry. A dozen men at most."

 

He picks up a small, paper package hidden under some shrubs that stands a very clear resemblance to the one Jeff gave to Paula – but he does not know... He brushes it off, takes something out, and hands the paper package to one of his men. He holds up a small, glass vial up to the sunlight. It's thin, round, and has a pointed cap.

 

"Antibiotics..." He mumbles to himself.

 

"Shit." He hears Everdred say. "They forgot this lottery ticket." He pulls on it a couple of times. Suddenly, Giygas raises a hand, silencing him.

 

"They're here... Those sons of bitches are here... And they're watching us." He takes a couple of steps forward and holds the vial up to the forest.

 

"Hey!" He shrieks. "You left this behind! And your lottery ticket! Why don't you come back and get it? Who knows? This could be your lucky day!"

 

Silence.

 

He brings the vial back down, pissed. He storms back to his horse, and rides off, along with his men.

 

Invisible under the trees, six young men are indeed watching. Among them is a young Ness. A thin, serious young man of fifteen. He holds his handgun tightly in his fist. Under his brown coat is his favorite striped yellow and blue shirt. Camouflage is super important with the color he wears. And although he can't wear his red and blue baseball cap, he wears a simple brown one until they are indeed alone, and hiding from the men that are hunting them like dogs.

 

.

.

.

~oO0Oo~

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.

.

 

Ninten's progress is slow. He crawls on all fours and is _very_ muddy. Bugs crawl all over his hands, arms, and feet, but he got so tired of wiping them all off that he no longer cares.

 

He looks around for the monstrous toad, but he can't see anything other than roots, mud, and bugs.

 

He then hears a heavy breathing behind him.

 

A drop of sweat rolls down his neck.

 

_What. The Fuck. Is that?_

 

He crawls around slowly and comes face to face with the biggest motherfucking toad he's ever seen. As high as a stool and as long as a microwave oven, this thing is no laughing matter. It's large yellow eyes blink, it's cheeks puff rhythmically in and out.

 

The boy clutches the magic stones so roughly, they cut into his hands, and they bleed and blister.

 

"H-hello. I'm Prince Monery, and I'm not afraid of you." He says to the reptile, his voice shaken and scared. He looks at the stones in his hand and clutches them to his chest.

 

"Aren't you ashamed living down here, eating all these bugs?" He asks. A large pillbug crawls up his neck and around his cheek. "And growing fat while the tree dies?"

 

The toad suddenly sticks out it's long, brown tongue, which flattens against Ninten's face. The boy drops the stones in shock as the tongue slides off, taking the bug with it. A string of saliva connects his tongue and Ninten's spit covered cheek, and the boy gives the frog a disgusted look, almost wanting to throw up.

 

The frog sucks it's tongue and bug right into its mouth and swallows, a long drip of drool sliding down its chin.

 

Gluttony.

 

Ninten quickly gathers up the stones, and holds them to his chest again, and stares at that huge mess.

 

_How do I give these fricking stones to it? These definitely aren't suppositories... Thank God..._

 

Ninten couldn't tell if the following was a burp or a loud growl, but whatever it was, it smelt like _shit_. It is so long, powerful, continuous, it almost knocks the boy on his ass. But he pulls through, fighting it.

 

He looks back at the stones, hopeless.

 

_Wait, I didn't have four stones._

 

One of the stones opens up, revealing an uncurled pillbug.

 

_Pillbugs look like stones..._

 

He picks it up – big, fat, and juicy. The toad looks on with excitement.

 

Ninten holds it up. "Hey," he says, shaking it and teasing the definition of disgusting. The toad licks it's lips and the boy puts the bug among the rocks and holds out his enclosed fist.

 

The toad wastes no time. It shoots out that tongue, and it wraps around the boy's wrist. Ninten opens up his fingers, and the tongue pulls. The boy tries hard not to go with it, and eventually the bug is gone. And so are the stones.

 

The black haired boy looks at his muddy palm, saliva stringing his fingers together. Looking up, the frog looks like it's about to vomit. The toad croaks violently, and opens it's mouth, and roars in pain. A giant yellow blob containing many pillbugs is violently pushed out of that huge mouth, and the boy just looks terrified. The blob falls to the floor and so does the frog's skin. Like a snake, it's just skin.

 

Disgusting.

 

Ninten moves slowly to the blob and reaches onto its center, for there is a golden key lying amongst the blood and bugs. He pulls it off, and strings of goo come along for the ride. The key shimmers brightly as Ninten looks at it.

 

When the boy emerges from the tree, it's already evening. He leans against its trunk and breathes. His face shows signs of obvious exhaustion. His entire body is filthy and sweaty. But, golden key in fist, he looks at the branch where his clothes are. Correction: where his clothes _were_.

 

Light thunder rumbles in the distance.

 

A few meters away, he finds his suit, covered in wet, mossy mud.

 

_Shit._

 

He walks up to it and picks it up.

 

It starts to rain. Heavily.

 

_SHIT!_

 

 

 

 

 

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.

.

~oO0Oo~

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.

.

 

Giygas looks at his ticking pocket watch under an umbrella. A pair of Bentleys sweeps into the driveway. Elegant dinner guests get out of the cars: the mayor, his wife, and a parish priest. Soldiers open up umbrellas and cover the guests.

 

In the dining room, Paula wheels Ninten's mother out into the room.

 

"Have you checked his room? And the pantry?"

 

"Yes, ma'am."

 

"Have you checked the garden?"

 

Paula nods.

 

"And the barn?"

 

"Yes, ma'am."

 

"Where is that boy?"

 

"This way, please," Giygas says, guiding the guests into the room. Paula turns Carol around. "Let me introduce you to my wife, Carol."

 

"Charmed." The mayor's wife says.

 

"A pleasure to meet you," Carol replies back, shaking the lady's hand.

 

At dinner, Giygas shows the ration cards at the table. "From now on, one ration card per family." He says.

 

Seated around the table is Jeff and his wife, the mayor and his wife, Everdred, the Civil Captain, Carol, Giygas, and the Priest.

 

"Take a look at them." He says, giving the set down, the rest passing them out.

 

"One?"

 

"Only one."

 

"Captain, I'm not sure if it'll be enough." The mayor says, voice full of concern.

 

"If people are careful, it should be plenty." The priest replies, dishing himself some potatoes.

 

"We can't allow anyone to send food to the guerrillas up in the mountains," Giygas explains. "They're losing ground, and one of them is wounded."

 

"Excuse me, Captain," Jeff interrupts, wiping his face with a napkin, "how can you be so sure?"

 

"We almost got them today." Giygas replies. "We found this." He holds up the vial they got into their possession earlier that day. "Antibiotics."

 

Nothing but the roaring fireplace behind Giygas speaks for a second, then the priest says out loud, "God has already saved their souls. What happens to their bodies hardly matters to Him."

 

Jeff and Paula who're also in the room exchange very worried glances.

 

_This is getting too dangerous..._

 

"We'll help you in any way we can, Captain." The mayor says. "We know you're not here by choice."

 

The Captain cleans his mouth with a napkin, puts down his utensils, and speaks. "You're wrong about that. I choose to be here because I want my son to be born in a new, clean Eagleland. Because these people hold the mistaken belief that we're all equal. But there's a big difference: the war's over, and we won. And if we need to kill all these vermin to settle it, then we'll kill them all, and that's that."

 

What makes this scene utterly _disturbing_ is the smile of pure pleasure on Giygas' face when he says his speech.

 

The Captain raises his glass. "We're all here by choice."

 

The others follow his example. "By choice!"

 

This is too much for Paula to take, as she is now eavesdropping in the kitchen. She grabs her jacket, a lantern, and says "Put the coffee on, I'm going for more wood." And then she was out. Even though the cooks say, "We'll take care of it," before she slams the door.

 

The girl calmly walks to the edge of the forest, on the verge of tears, and holds her hand in front of the lantern, then removes it.

 

_Come on... See the morse code..._

 

She turns around and sees a muddy boy walking down the hill.

 

"Ninten?" She asks quietly. He walks quickly to her, arms clutching a book. He's shuttering, mud caked all over his body.

 

Paula puts her hand under the boy's chin.

 

.

.

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~oO0Oo~

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.

.

 

The mayor's wife cut the rabbit on her plate.

 

"So – how did you and the Captain meet?" Jeff's wife asks Carol.

 

Carol put her hand on her husband's, his face showing he was uncomfortable, saying "Ninten's father used to make the Captain's uniforms."

 

"Oh, I see..."

 

"After he died, I went to work at the shop. A little more than a year ago, the Captain and I met again."

 

Giygas moves his hand away from Carol's.

 

"Curious, isn't it?" Jeff's wife adds. "I mean, finding each other again?"

 

The mayor's wife laughs, "Oh yes, very, very curious."

 

Giygas had had enough. He slams his cup down and says "Please, forgive my wife. She hasn't been exposed to the world. She thinks these silly little stories are interesting to others." He jams some meat into his mouth, while Carol looks down. Ashamed.

 

Paula comes in and bends down to Carol. "Ninten is here." She whispers.

 

"Excuse me." She says, Paula wheeling her out of the room. All the men stand up out of the chairs, until the ladies are out of the room, and they take their seats.

 

"Have I told you," The Civil Captain says, "that I was antiquated with your father, Captain?"

 

"No, I had no idea."

 

"In Chommo. I knew him only briefly but he left a great impression. An excellent soldier. The men in his battalion said that when General Giygas died on the battlefield, he smashed his watch on a rock so that his son would know the exact hour and minute of his death. So he would know how a brave man dies."

 

All eyes turned to Giygas.

 

"Nonsense. He didn't own a watch." He says, jamming a piece of rabbit into his mouth.

 

 

 

 

 

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.

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~oO0Oo~

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.

 

Ninten's mother stares at the suit on her lap, moving it around, shaking her head sadly. "What you've done hurts me."

 

Her son is floating in a tub of warm, soapy water.

 

"When you've finished your bath, you'll go to bed _without_ supper." His mother commands.

 

Ninten listens in silence, holding back, looking down and playing with the bubbles floating in the water.

 

"Are you listening?"

 

The boy looks up, and nods once.

 

"Sometimes I think you'll never learn to behave..." She says sadly. "You've disappointed me, Ninten." She turns the wheelchair. "And your father, too."

 

"You mean the Captain?" Ninten asks, drawing near the edge of the tub.

 

"Him more than me." His mother replies, almost coldly.

 

The faintest trace of satisfaction is visible of Ninten's face as his mother leaves.

 

He leans back into the bath, looks down, and smiles.

 

All the dirt is gone, and he is virtually clean. The warm water feels amazing and soothes his aching muscles and bones.

 

The stick insect flies into the open window, and perches itself on the edge of the tub, greeting Ninten.

 

"I've got the key." He whispers to the insect.

 

It looks at him.

 

"Take me to the labyrinth."

 


	5. Chapter 5

With the golden key clutched tightly in his fist against his chest, Ninten makes his way down the stone staircase to the bottom of the well in his pajamas. He walks to the monolith and observes the etching again.

 

_Is that the faun holding me? What is the baby doing there?_

 

The stick insect flies around the room quickly, almost excitedly while Ninten places his hand against the boy's face, and slides it against the stone.

 

The stick insect turns into the green fairy and flies behind Ninten, who looks behind himself. Emerged from the shadows is the faun, chewing violently on a piece of raw meat.

 

_I don't even want to know what kind of meat that is..._

 

"Hello." He says awkwardly, feeling kind of weird that a magic creature has to see him in his blue and white striped pajamas and blue slippers.

 

He holds the key outward. "I got the key out."

 

"That's me, and the boy is you." The faun interrupts and points to the etching.

 

"And the baby?"

 

The faun stops and stares at the thirteen-year-old for a second. "So – you retrieved the key." He says, changing the subject. Ninten thinks about repeating his question but decides against it. The faun bends down slightly and extends his head so it's less than a meter away from Ninten's face. "I'm glad." He gives a slight laugh, then stands back, extending his pointer finger to let the green fairy stand atop it. It does so, and violently tears off a piece of the meat, and starts feasting.

 

Ninten isn't used to the fairy acting so violently, and he watches with a face filled with uneasiness.

 

"She believed in you from the very beginning. She's very glad you've succeeded." The fairy jumps up and flies around some more, and the faun laughs, watching it as if it were a pet bird.

 

The faun raises a hand, then rolls down all his fingers except for the pointer. "Keep the key. You'll be needing it very soon. And this too."

 

He bends down and hands the teen a white stick.

 

"A piece of chalk."

 

He then starts to caress the boy's cheek with his dirty, branch fingers. Ninten's head backs up slightly at the awkward touch.

 

"Two tasks remain and the moon is almost full."

 

He moves his finger down to his chin and flicks it up.

 

"Be patient. We'll soon stroll through the seven circular gardens of your palace."

 

"How do I know that what you say is true?" The boy asks.

 

The faun stops, surprised by the sudden question.

 

"Why would a poor little faun like me lie to you?" He answers simply, running a pointer finger down from his eye to his cheek.

 

Ninten takes this opportunity to leave, while the faun stares at him the whole time smiling widely.

 

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.

.

~oO0Oo~

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The storehouse lock opens, and Giygas lets the doors swing open. "Proceed." He says simply, allowing the large line of people to enter. "Have your cards ready for inspection! Let's go!" A soldier at a desk calls. "Your name?" He asks. Meanwhile, Paula and the other cooks start bringing out baskets of bread to bring into the mill. Each piece is contained in a brown bag with a legend printed. The Civil Captain takes a piece from the basket as Paula walks by, and recites the legend as Paula and the others pass them out.

 

_This is our daily bread in Eagleland! Which we keep safe in this mill. The Reds lie when they say there's hunger in Eagleland. Because in a united Eagleland, there's not a single home without a warm fire or without bread._

 

Awakening from the ruckus outside, Ninten slips out of bed next to his mother. While his mother sleeps on, Ninten heads toward the bathroom. When he's just about there, his mother moans softly. He looks backwards towards the bed but continues until he's locked inside. He sits on the edge of the tub again, and reads from the Book of Crossroads, kept safe in the bathroom, hidden.

 

"Come on. Show me what happens now."

 

Red.

 

One large circle on each page and one small in the centre. The big circles are connected to the small by a small line each. It flows down the centre of the book.

 

He looks up towards the door, frightened.

 

Looking back down. He connects the dots quickly. That image looked like a uterus. Red. Blood. The page's red expands quickly as a deadly scream rings in his head.

 

He slams the book shut, not wanting to see anymore, as he is quite frightened.

 

Blood. Uterus...

 

_Oh no._

 

He looks at the door, and walks quickly towards it, dropping the book to the floor as his bare feet slap against the tile.

 

He opens the door.

 

Everything happens so quickly. His mother walking on the floor, leaning on the foot of the bed. Her hand clutching her privates through atop her clothes. Blood clearly staining the nightdress there, and flowing downwards to the floor.

 

The whole floor is covered in a trail of blood. His mother sweats violently.

 

"Ninten... help me." She mumbles, shaking, lifting up a bloody hand in his direction.

 

Ninten _ran_. He burst out the front doors amongst everybody in his bare feet, pajamas, and bedhead – all his glory - but he didn't care one bit. He ran in Giygas' direction.

 

"Captain! Captain!" He shrieks.

 

Giygas walks quickly towards the boy.

 

"Come quickly!"

 

They both dash inside, while that stupid Civil Captain just keeps repeating that same damn legend. Over and over.

 

.

.

.

~oO0Oo~

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.

.

 

The Captain and Jeff stand in the afternoon rain.

 

"Your wife needs uninterrupted rest," Jeff explains. "She'll have to be sedated most of the time. The boy should sleep somewhere else. I'll stay here until the birth."

 

"Make her well." This is said simply while the voice's owner stared into space. "I don't care what it costs or what you need. Make her well."

 

.

.

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~oO0Oo~

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.

.

 

Ninten stares at the filthy attic and the dark, low ceiling full of holes. He tries to ignore Paula and two of the other maids throwing a white comforter on a bed with two fluffy pillows.

 

The two maids leave.

 

He feels so alone.

 

He walks next to his bed, fairy tales under an arm, two suitcases in the others. He puts the suitcases on the floor and the books on his bedside table. He then sits on the edge of the bed.

 

He tries to fight back the tears, but he's not that strong, and a few slip out, sliding out his eyes down his cheeks. Paula places a hand on his shoulder and says from behind, "Don't worry. Your mother will get better, you'll see. Having a baby is complicated."

 

Even though the child knew he himself as a male could not physically birth children, he didn't want to take part in anything like this in his life.

 

"Then... I'll never have one." He mumbles tearfully.

 

Paula sees the sadness, and comes around and sits right beside him on the bed. She places a hand on his shoulder and strokes his hair.

 

He turns to her.

 

"You're helping the men in the woods, aren't you?"

 

That came out of the blue, and Paula froze.

 

She slowly takes her hands off him. "Have you told anyone?"

 

"No, I haven't." Ninten looks away from her. "I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

He leans back into her chest, another tear escaping his eye. Paula does nothing for a second, unsure of what to do in the awkward turn. She goes to place a hand on his head, but she realizes he needs someone. He needs more than a head rub.

 

She tries to hug him for a second, but can't figure out how to follow through.

 

Then she embraces him, pulling him close.

 

He sniffs.

 

The hug is soft, warm, affectionate. It's the only thing he ever needs at this point.

 

"Nor I to you." She replies.

 

The relationship between them has just kicked into overdrive.

 

"Do you know a lullaby?" He asks simply.

 

"Only one... But I don't remember the words."

 

"I don't care, I still want to hear it."

 

They both close their eyes and Paula hums. The hum is melancholic yet relaxing. She rocks him back and forth.

 

 

 

 

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~oO0Oo~

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Paula is alone in the kitchen in the night. She often looks behind her to make sure she's not caught. She carries a canvas bag. There is a low flame burning on the charcoal range.

 

She kneels down and removes a tile from the floor: she has hidden some food, a bottle of Orujo and some papers. She transfers everything to the canvas bag. Behind her, a shadow approaches, but she has no idea. As it comes closer, she stops, and whips her head around, startled.

 

"Don't be afraid! It's only me!" Jeff whispers loudly.

 

Paula replies with an exhale of relief. He comes close to her with a medical kit. "Are you ready?

 

"Yes."

 

"Well, let's go."

 

Walking through the forest in the early morning is very hard, but they keep pushing through. Walking through a creek, Jeff breaks the silence. "This is sheer madness. When that man finds out about us, he'll kill us all. Have you thought about that?"

 

The pair stop.

 

"Are you so afraid of him, Doctor?"

 

"It's not fear... at least not for myself."

 

Paula raises a finger to her lips, and they are silent. A noise. Then silence. The tree trunks sway and creak softly.

 

Something moves among the trees... Someone moves towards them, and when they connect eyes, no one is scared.

 

"Ness," Paula mumbles at the young guerrilla, "Ness, my brother!" They embrace.

 

"Paula." Ness mumbles. "I'm not your brother. I'm your friend!"

 

Paula knows this, but still continues to call him a brother, as they are so close, yet are always miles apart – physically.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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~oO0Oo~

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.

 

Ninten slumbers softly as a shadow looms over him. The faun observes the boy. Ninten suddenly awakens, startled by the creature's silent gurgle. He sits up.

 

"You didn't carry out the task."

 

"No, my mother is sick."

 

"Bah, that's no excuse for negligence." He says, once again waving away Ninten's answer. "Look..." He says, pulling something tan-colored from his bag. "This is a mandrake root. A plant that dreampt of being human."

 

The plant looks like a curled up a child. Ninten looks at it, eyes gleaming with wonder.

 

"Put it under your mother's bed in a bowl of fresh milk." He instructs, giving the plant to the boy, who takes it, a slight look of revolt on his face. "Each morning, give it two drops of blood."

 

Ninten places the root aside.

 

"Now, we have no time to waste." The faun says, closing his hands together. "The full moon will be upon us." He stops, again like he's remembered something. He takes off his wicker basket as the fairies chirp inside it. "Take my pets to guide you through." Ninten takes this as well. "You're going to a very dangerous place, so be careful. The thing that slumbers there it is not human." He says shaking his head. He then hands him a third item – an hourglass – which he takes as well. "You will see a sumptuous feast, but don't eat or drink _anything_. Absolutely _nothing_. Your life depends on it." He says seriously.

 

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.

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~oO0Oo~

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.

 

Paula, Ness, and Jeff arrive at a cave entrance and head inside. The walls are covered with soot. A dozen more guerrillas sit around an open fire in the middle of the cave. Candles are lit everywhere.

 

Paula begins to unpack her canvas bag and hands out the items.

 

"I've brought some Orujo, tobacco, cheese. Mail for Caitlyn and Izzie."

 

Jeff walks over to a man lying down on a pile of thick fabrics, reading a book weakly. "Let's see how that leg is doing, Frenchie," Jeff says, taking off his jacket.

 

"How do you think it's doing?" The man replies, "It's fucked up."

 

Jeff rolls up his sleeves. "Let's see." As he begins to take off the bandages, a stuttering boy reads aloud from a newspaper. The leg looks horrible. A large wound is on the front of his leg, stretching down from knee to ankle. It's grey. When Jeff touches around his leg, the man grunts in pain. "Is it really bad, Doctor?"

 

"Look, Frenchie..." Jeff takes off his glasses. "There's now way to save it." He states sadly.

 

Everyone goes quiet.

 

Jeff opens up his kit and produces a stainless steel bone saw.

 

Everyone is over to the older man, who is downing a bottle of alcohol.

 

Why wouldn't you? Perfect time, right?

 

He gives the bottle back.

 

"I'll try to make it in as few cuts as possible," Jeff tells the man, bending down.

 

The man nods.

 

Jeff places the saw on the man's shin, he can feel the pricks of the saw.

 

"Wait a second, Doctor, just a second."

 

Jeff obeys as Frenchie looks longingly at his leg. One last time ... Then, he takes hold of two men's arms. Paula and Ness put all their weight on the injured limb.

 

He nods.

 

Jeff slides the saw back, then pushes with all his might as he slides it to the right. The skin breaks and the saw slides into the bone with a rough, scratchy sound.

 


End file.
